In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week” Sunday program, GOP vice-presidential candidate JD Vance (R-OH) used the opportunity to clarify his and the Trump campaign’s positions on several key issues. The Republican senator from Ohio had a heated exchange with ABC anchor Jonathan Karl, during which he corrected Karl’s interpretations and fact-checked him live on air.
One of the most heated exchanges occurred when Vance addressed accusations regarding the Republican position on family rights and gender issues. Vance strongly refuted Karl’s claims that Trump had mischaracterized Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s policies, which could lead to separating children from parents over disagreements on gender reassignment treatments. Vance argued that opposing such interventions was about respecting parental rights and differing viewpoints rather than endorsing state overreach.
“What President Trump said, Jon, is that Tim Walz has supported taking children from their parents if the parents don’t consent to gender reassignment. That is crazy. And by the way, Tim Walz gets on his high horse about mind your own damn business. One way of minding your own damn business, Jon, is to not try to take my children away from me if I have different worldviews than you.”
“That’s not what he’s proposed,” Karl said back. “If you disagree with decisions about gender reassignment, yes, he has proposed that, Jon,” Vance responded. “He absolutely has.”
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The interview also addressed broader immigration and social policies, with Vance defending the campaign’s stance on undocumented immigrants and their proposed measures to strengthen national security and uphold the rule of law. Vance intensified his criticism of Walz, which led to a swift reaction from Democrats who rallied in support of the governor.
Vance revisited the migrant crisis issue, attributing it to Harris and the Biden administration’s policy decisions, particularly the termination of the “Remain in Mexico” policy. “You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
He added: “I think we’re going to win. I also think that we have to work as hard as possible for the remainder of the election to try to persuade Americans to vote for us. That’s the name of the game.”
